Power and Bulk

Look, I'm not going to lie. There's a guy in here, "Lockout", that makes this one of the least productive and most boring places to talk training on the internet, and no one can be bothered to ban him. Buyer beware. Arguments about minutiae. Ad hominems. Appeals to authority. Training #1.

Gotta admit I try to stir things up just for the entertainment of it, but this got a little out of hand...

I wrote

Barbells are numero uno. Other stuff is not numero uno.

Pat Flynn responded

Fallacious on no shortage of accounts. But mostly because this presupposes that everyone is working toward the same end. Tell me how barbell is numero uno for someone wanting to improve their mile run? Tell me how barbell is numero uno for someone wanting to learn a handstand, master muscle ups, or practice tree pose? The barbell, like anything, is a tool, and in some respects a better tool for some jobs, than others. But to become so emotionally attached to a long, straight bar of cast iron, to the point of disregarding or disparaging all other appropriate and useful training tools and methodology, is shortsighted at least, dangerous at most, but more than anything, anti-generalist. So if you're that attached to the barbell, this may not be the group for you.

I wrote

I am not saying secondary activity has no place. I am saying this though...do your squats deads ohp bench and rows and you will be able to develop a great physique, reap massive health benefits. Do nothing else and the benefits will still be enormous. That in my mind makes them prime. Other stuff adds, but it's cherry on the cake if you do the compound barbell lifts.Strong first. Some dietary restriction is always going to apply regardless of exercise choice.If you stay lean and do those compound moves, I would say you are going to have an above average mile time and the rest without doing anything else. But I do not know that for sure. Generalism means being good at a lot of things. Having the strength base from basic compounds will make a major contribution. I think the point stands.Big barbell lifts are numero uno from the perspectives of health and performance. On,y a narrow specialist, probably in long endurance events would argue the point. The barbell is the best tool we have.

He wrote

Your point fails on almost every level, because it again attempts to smuggle in a series of loaded assumptions. First, that strength is primary. False. You can’t have strength unless you have range of motion from which that strength can be demonstrated. So, if you’re going to say anything first, you should say Mobility First. Having strength through restricted or even injurious range of motion is of virtually no interest to our approach here. Second, that being strong through a few big fundamental lifts means “massive health benefits.” Also, false. Fitness is the ability to complete a task. Health is the optimal interplay of the organs. While often correlated, fitness =/= health, and it’d be imprudent to assume they do, as there are no short number of instances where people with extremely impressive fitness accomplishes, lifting or otherwise, are by all accounts extremely unhealthy. Third, do you deny the law of specificity? To assume the barbell is the best tool for a better mile run time, is just a peculiar thing to say. Even the indirect benefits of heavy lifts would never outweigh the direct benefits of specific training, for literally anything. This is like saying you’d be a better wrestler if you spent less time wrestling and more time overhead pressing, etc. Obviously, there are indirect benefits to be had (the notion of carry over, etc), but this would put the barbell at NUMERO DOS, and NOT numeru uno, as you have claimed. So again, performance AT what? Your answer at best raises the question, and when the question is properly raised, denies your answer, and supports mine: The barbell is a tool that is better at some things, and worse at others.

I left it there, semi interesting.

‘’Either the proletarian revolution is victorious or capitalist barbarism will destroy humanity”.

You could argue other points I suppose as far as what you should do for different goals.

But overall I agree. For general health as far as exercise goes, the barbell is the cornerstone. Same with strength.

You really don't need anything else for those basic goals, at least not for the exercise part of it. The rest is diet.

But diet can be simple too. Most people will argue different, but the truth is that the majority of diet caused health problems are caused by simply eating too much or too little.

Other than that I've been a big fan of being generally active for a long time now. But a lot of people don't seem to have the time for that. And in such cases I would obviously recommend the same thing. Assuming the most extreme busiest schedule, lift at least 1-2 times a week for strength, cut calories if you want to drop some extra blubber, and you should be all set with a body that's healthy strong and even looks good.

This is the proof that simplicity works. Lift heavy at least once a week, cut calories if necessary, and you will be both strong and lean. And if that ain't healthy, I don't know what is.